If you’re an MLB fan in your mid-to-late 20s, congratulations! Your childhood is officially over.
The league will enshrine outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, left-handers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, outfielder Dave Parker and infielder Dick Allen into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York on Sunday.
Suzuki — who fell just one vote short of a unanimous election — Sabathia and Wagner were elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, while Allen and Parker were elected via the Classic Baseball Era Committee.
Here’s everything you need to know about these five baseball legends.
Dick Allen
Dick Allen was a seven-time MLB All-Star. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr. /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Career Accolades: 1972 American League MVP, seven-time All-Star, 1964 National League Rookie of the Year
It took mere seconds for Allen to become a force for the Philadelphia Phillies (1963-69), as he quickly established himself as an impact bat from the right side, highlighted by winning 1964 National League Rookie of the Year honors with a .318/.283/.557 slash line and an NL-high 125 runs scored and 13 doubles. Over the next decade, Allen would be one of the most feared hitters in the sport, getting on base and slugging at a high level.
After missing considerable time in the latter half of the 1960s due to hand, shoulder and hamstring injuries — and changing teams three times — Allen put together the best season of his career in 1972 with the Chicago White Sox. He totaled an American League-best 8.6 WAR, 199 OPS+, 37 home runs, 113 RBIs and 99 walks, while posting a .308/.420/.603 slash line, with all but his batting average leading the AL en route to AL MVP honors. Over his 15-year career, Allen led his respective league in OPS four times and OPS+ three times.
Allen got extensive playing time at three positions. After beginning his career as a third baseman, he moved to left field full-time in 1968 before gradually moving back to the infield, but mostly to play first base.Â
Dave Parker
Dave Parker starred on the Pirates’ 1979 World Series team, the last triumph in franchise history. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Career Accolades: 1978 National League MVP, two batting titles, three Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, seven-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion
The 6-foot-5 Parker is one of the best right fielders of all time. Spending the first 11 seasons of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1973-83) and the following four with the Cincinnati Reds (1984-87), Parker’s size could deceive, as he was an excellent contact hitter who caused trouble on the basepaths, seldom struck out and could also drop the hammer from the left side of the plate.
After totaling an NL-best 215 hits, winning the NL batting title and finishing as a runner-up for the NL MVP Award in 1977, Parker claimed the 1978 edition of the prestigious award in a season in which he posted a .334/.394/.585 slash line and an NL-high with both a 7.0 WAR and a 166 OPS+.Â
Parker, who was superb at the corner outfield position, was part of two championship teams, winning the 1979 World Series with the Pirates — in a postseason when he hit .341 — and the 1989 World Series with the Athletics.Â
CC Sabathia won the 2009 World Series with the Yankees. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Career Accolades: 2007 American League Cy Young, six-time All-Star, World Series champion
Sabathia was the prototypical ace. He was an overwhelming force on the hill who was one of the best starting pitchers of his generation and one of the best left-handers of all time. Sabathia pitched deep into games (he had 38 complete games, including 10 in 2008), evaded trouble and was money for the New York Yankees on their path to winning the 2009 World Series.Â
In the 2009 postseason, Sabathia’s first season with the Yankees, he posted a 1.98 ERA and 1.02 WHIP across 36 1/3 innings pitched (five starts). Furthermore, he pitched a complete game and surrendered just one run in New York’s closeout Game 5 victory over the AL East-rival Baltimore Orioles in the 2012 AL Division Series.
Sabathia, who led the AL in wins in each of his first two seasons with the Yankees (2009-10), had previously shined in Cleveland from 2001-08 and in a brief second-half stint with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008. In 2007, Sabathia led the AL with 241.0 innings pitched, while posting a 3.21 ERA and 19 wins, helping him win the 2007 AL Cy Young Award. Sabathia, who pitched through 2019, is 18th in MLB history with 3,093 strikeouts.
Ichiro Suzuki played nine seasons in the Japan Pacific League before his MLB debut in 2001. (Photo by Don Smith/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Career Accolades: 2001 American League MVP, 10 Gold Gloves, two batting titles, three Silver Sluggers, 10-time All-Star, 2001 American League Rookie of the Year
In 2001, MLB experimented with cloning, as it took the skills of Ty Cobb and transferred them to a player with the name “Ichiro” on his back. Yes, he was that good.
After playing nine seasons in the Japan Pacific League (1992-2000), Suzuki joined the Seattle Mariners and immediately became one of the faces of Major League Baseball. In his 2001 debut season, Suzuki won both AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP honors. For the next decade, Suzuki was the best contact hitter in baseball. Not only did he lead the AL in hits in seven of his first 10 seasons, but Suzuki totaled 200-plus hits in each of his first 10 seasons.
Moreover, Suzuki had blazing speed, put on display by beating out groundballs, wreaking havoc on the basepaths and being a vacuum in right field. While he began to slow down in production in the ensuing decade, Suzuki remained a reliable, everyday player. Playing 17 full MLB seasons and in part of 19 seasons total, Suzuki totaled a combined 3,089 hits, good for 25th all time. Ichiro debuted in MLB when he was 27. Had Suzuki come to the majors a few years earlier, he could’ve been in the top five in hits. If one combines Ichiro’s JPL and MLB outputs, he has 4,367 career hits.
Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner was a seven-time MLB All-Star. (Photo credit should read MIKE FIALA/AFP via Getty Images)
Career Accolades: 1999 Relief Man of the Year Award, seven-time All-Star
“You want the heater? I’ll give it to you.” That’s probably what Wagner thought to himself when he had one more out to get in the ninth inning.
Wagner shined out of the back end of multiple bullpens, including that of the Houston Astros (1995-2003), Phillies (2004-05), New York Mets (2006-09), Boston Red Sox (2009) and Atlanta Braves (2010). One of the most elite closers of all time, the southpaw logged strikeouts and kept runners off the basepaths at a high rate. Wagner is eighth in MLB history with 422 career saves.
In his final season (2010), Wagner posted a 1.43 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 104 strikeouts across 69 1/3 innings pitched (71 appearances). It was the lowest ERA that Wagner posted in a complete season, and it helped him earn a trip to the MLB All-Star Game; the left-hander earned an All-Star nod on four different teams.
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